An eight-year-old girl was found dead in her house in neighboring North 24 Parganas having choked herself fatally while playing with ropes, police said on Tuesday.

“Her parents revealed that the girl was very active and played around by climbing and swinging. The death on Monday seems to be due to the ropes tightening around her neck. There are no other injury marks. The body has been sent for post-mortem to make things clear,” said the investigating officer from the Jaggadal police station.

The family members revealed that she watched cartoons a lot and always played around.

“We had played in the rain together, after that she was playing on her own with her dolls. My sister watched cartoons a lot. She also avidly watched a crime show,” her sister said.

However, a city-based psychologist said: “It is not right to blame cartoons and other TV shows. Even if a child is watching, he/she must be made aware of reality, through discussions initiated by the family members.”

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Ram Vilas Vedanti on Monday said that a grand Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya “all of a sudden”.

Talking to the media in Ayodhya ahead of the visit of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyaas said that the “temple construction will be done in the same manner as the Babri mosque was razed”.

“A grand Ram temple will come up at Ayodhya in 2019, all of a sudden, almost on lines of demolition of the Babri mosque,” he added.

Alluding to the demolition of the disputed structure in 1992, the former lawmaker tried to suggest that the way to construction of the Ram temple could be out of court as well. He said that only the BJP had the “capacity to construct the Ram temple”.

He also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi ensure that the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyaas gets back the 67-acre land.

“The BJP now has majority governments in Uttar Pradesh and the Centre and it is the right time for construction of the grand Ram temple and bring the long-drawn battle to an end,” he said.

A transgender woman was kicked out of a restaurant here after she refused to show her ID confirming she was a female in order to use the facility’s women bathroom.

Charlotte Clymer, an activist who works with the Human Rights Campaign, recalled her ordeal on Twitter, saying she was celebrating a bachelorette party on Friday with friends at Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar in Northwest D.C. when she was stopped by a staff member as she tried to use the restroom.

Clymer said the attendant asked for her ID and when she asked why, he told her that “female” must be on the card in order to use the women’s restroom.

She said no other people in the hallway waiting to use the facilities were asked to show their ID. Clymer then entered a stall and the man followed her in the women’s restroom before eventually leaving.

According to Clymer, when she came out of the restroom, the attendant and the manager told her that according to D.C. law she must have “female” on her ID to use the women’s facility.

But the D.C. law does not say that. According to it, if someone identifies as a woman, they’re allowed to use a women’s bathroom and refusing to let someone use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender is discrimination, said a CNN report.

Clymer said the manager threatened to call the police and said humiliated her intentionally. She said she was then let out by a bouncer who “grabbed” her arm and “pushed her out”.

Later, the restaurant apologized about the incident on Twitter. “As a rule, we support safe bathrooms and welcome guests of all gender identifications,” it said in a statement.

“It is particularly disappointing that this has occurred during Pride month when we’re undertaking efforts and events to support the LGBTQ community.”

Cuba Libre also said that it will re-train its entire staff to make sure something like this doesn’t happen in the future. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser also tweeted an apology to Clymer.

 A flag meeting was held on Thursday between officers of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers on the International Border (IB) in Jammu district.

The BSF officials said the flag meeting was held on the request of Pakistan Rangers.

“Today at about 10.35 a.m., a Sector Commander-level flag meeting was held between the BSF and Pakistan Rangers at zero line on Octroi border outpost in Suchetgarh sector,” the officials said.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) BSF frontier headquarters Paloura, Jammu, P.S. Dhiman and 11 other officials participated from the Indian side. Brigadier Muhammad Amjad Hussain and seven other officials of Pakistan Rangers came from the other side.

“During the meeting, various issues related to the border were discussed. BSF cautioned the Pakistan Rangers about the snipping acts and unprovoked ceasefire violations from Pakistan, asserting that the BSF will not tolerate these cowardly acts in future.

“Pakistan Rangers denied all the allegations and said that no snipping was done from their side,” the officials said.

Both sides agreed to work together for maintaining peace and harmony along the IB and intimate each other before carrying out any construction work along the border.

The BSF also told Pakistan Rangers that no movement of armed persons along the IB should be noticed during late hours.

“Meeting was held in a conducive atmosphere with prime focus on maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border. Both sides agreed to develop confidence between them,” the BSF officials said.

The meeting ended peacefully at 12 noon.

A Dalit women’s collective, leading their side event for the first time at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Thursday, voiced their concern over increasing violence and atrocities against women and called for “structural upheaval” to combat the situation, a statement said.

A report “Voices against Caste Impunity: Narratives of Dalit women in India”, charting caste-based violence and the struggles that survivors are made to face for justice, was also released at the UNHRC’s 38th session.

“Dalit women are facing various kinds of extremely brutal violence and a culture of collusion between different authorities to protect perpetrators of crimes against Dalit women,” it said.

It also mentioned that the SC/ST commissions and the National Commission for Women (NCW) may not be able to fully grasp and address gendered caste issues.

A panel constituting UN member on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination committee Rita Isazk-Ndiaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women Dubravka Aimonovi, Supreme Court advocate Vrinda Grover and the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch General Secretary Asha Kotwal were present at the event.

According to the speakers, violence against Dalit women is linked with economic deprivation, political disenfranchisement, barriers to justice and social indignities.

“Dalit woman narrative is not victimhood, we want to make it known to the world that our fight is against those who spread venom and bias which obstruct our right to life,” said Kotwal.

The panellists also pitched for strong support by a global solidarity movement and seek stronger actions from within the UN and campaigns from international human rights organisations.

“Many Dalit victims and their families in India are not informed of their rights and atrocities committed against them are crimes. Institutionalised impunity for crimes committed against Dalit women in India must be addressed. The police’s reluctance and deliberate omissions to register complaints and arrest perpetrators must be questioned,” Grover said.

Investigating the recent spate of hunger deaths in Jharkhand, a Right to Food Campaign report has blamed faulty Public Distribution System and “alarming level of food insecurity” in the state for keeping poor people in starvation and “forcing them to die”.

In the last 10 months, at least 12 persons have died of starvation in the state, the campaign has noted in its report, with three of these deaths occurring in June alone.

“The recent deaths of Savitri Devi in Giridh, Meena Musahar in Chhatra and Chintaman Malhar in Ramgarh expose the government’s lack of seriousness to address the issue of starvation in the state.

“Even after a spate of deaths before these three victims, the government took negligible cognizance of the alarming situation,” the cross-country collective of various bodies said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The cause of these deaths was a denial of food for either lack of ration card or not having the card linked with Aadhaar by the victims, the report noted.

“Contrary to the government’s claims, the immediate causes of the 12 recent starvation deaths include denial of subsidized rice due to the absence of a ration card, cancellation of ration card due to the absence of Aadhaar linkage or failure of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication.

“It is true that many of the starvation victims were also ill, but they would probably not have succumbed to hunger if they received adequate nutrition and medical care,” it said.

So that the poor don’t die starving, the campaign demanded for the “universalisation of the PDS in rural areas”.

It also criticised the coverage of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) — a government scheme to provide food to the poorest of the poor, of which there are millions in the country.

The campaign revealed that despite falling in such category, the victims’ families were found not to possess any AAY ration cards.

“Denial of social security pensions and absence of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act further contributed to the destitution of the starvation victims and their families.

“At least four victims were eligible to social security pension, but were either not issued a pension either due to administrative lapses or Aadhaar-related issues.”

A day after an inter-faith couple tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj narrating the humiliation they had to face at the city passport office, accused officer Vikas Mishra was transferred. A probe was also ordered in this regard on Thursday.

Hours after the incident, secretary of external affairs ministry D M Mulay took cognizance of the matter and assured “appropriate action”, following which the couple was called to the passport office on Thursday and their passports were handed over to them.

The incident was first reported by on Wednesday when it came to light that the couple, who had applied for their passports in Lucknow, was allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vikas Mishra before he rejected their application.

Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, who married Tanvi Seth in 2007 in Lucknow and has a six-year-old daughter, applied for both of their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at the Passport Office in Lucknow.

On the day of the appointment, the couple cleared the first two stages of the interview at counters A and B but the problem started at counter C where one has to interact with an official.

Siddiqui said, “My wife’s turn came before me and as soon as she reached counter C5, an officer named Vikas Mishra started to go through her documents. When he read the spouse’s name as Mohd Anas Siddiqui, he started shouting at her and said that she should not have married me. My wife broke into tears, after which Mr. Mishra said that she should get all the documents corrected with a changed name.”

Sethi later tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Prime Minister’s Office and sought their intervention, following which the action was taken.

In her tweet to Swaraj, Sethi wrote, “Hello Ma’am, I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger/hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr. Vikas Mishra the reason because I married a Muslim and not changed my name ever. He spoke to me very rudely and was loud enough for others to hear while discussing my case. I have never felt so harassed ever before. The other workers at the office acknowledged his rude demeanor (sic).”

In another tweet, Tanvi Seth added: “Sushma Swaraj Ma’am I have never imagined that in a place like a passport office we would have a people who are moral policing the citizens. He didn’t just put my passport on hold he even put my husband’s passport on hold. This is a clear grudge. I was shocked at this behavior. I have never felt so insulted in the last 12 years of my marriage with my husband. It is my personal choice to choose a name I want to after my marriage. This is our family matter and the last thing I expected to hear at the passport office was it is your duty to change your name after marriage. The person who spoke to my husband later said of your wife’s case would have been coming to me there wouldn’t have been issues because her papers are complete (sic).”

PTI

BY: N Abirami
A Andrea Princy
D Santhosha

Absent in statistics, unnoticed by researchers, neglected by national and local authorities and mostly overlooked by civil society organizations – the situation of widows is poignant, ineffective and invisible.
In Indian society, predominantly being a patriarchal one, widows lost all privileges and authority within the family and society at large. They were confined to the four walls of the house, wearing white outfits and devoid of any ornaments or make-up that would make them look desirable. Social and family gatherings were out of bounds for widows and she was served only non-spicy food, which was considered to subdue sexual passion. They were considered as a bad omen. In some tribes and castes, she was burnt alive in the name of ‘Sati’ or she was forced to remain as a wife to the brothers of the deceased. People never considered her human, but were only serving the selfish needs of the men in the society. The same was never the case for a widower. He remarried and started a family as normally as possible. Widowhood was ceremoniously thrust upon her for the rest of her life. The offspring too suffered neglect and lack of basic amenities for grooming their life.
Governor General Lord William Bentinck of the East India Company; William Carey, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar and many other activists paved way for abolishing this undesirable and inhumane practice.
After Independence the Indian government made various legislation to protect the widows and her children . all was tuned towards keeping them alive and legally giving some rights to the property. But she was still considered a bad omen!
She is still the vulnerable section of the society who seeks acceptance, empowerment, rights to live as a normal human, to find companionship, remarry and start life afresh and to be employed at an equal status and be seen with justice and empathy. It is estimated that in the Republic of Congo, nearly 50% of women are widows. There are an estimated three million widows in Iraq and over 70,000 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
It is estimated that 7 to 16% of all adult women in the world are widows. It is estimated that there are over 245 million widows worldwide, nearly half of which live in extreme poverty and are subject to cruel violence.

Who is responsible for the social ostracism the lady undergoes after her husband’s demise?
If village loses 300 men in a calamity or mishap, what happens to the family after that?
Who has the count of such women and children in our large and diverse country?
Who is bothered about these – Government? Corporate? Business houses? Common man?
Who … Who … Who ???.
The answer to all the above questions is PARIHAAR FOUNDATION. Parihaar foundation marches to end discrimination against widows and Divorcees. Hence there is hope for the dark world faced by the widows and divorced women.
Sripada Rao, founder and managing trustee of “Parivarthana” (Transformation), a trust promoting welfare for widows and divorcees. Sripada Rao has written novels on widow marriages and to set an example, himself married a widow with a child, in 1988. PARIHAAR Foundation is inspired by social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshav Karve, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Founder – Managing of Parivarthana Sri Nadahalli Sripada Rao. Parihaar has stepped in to help widows and divorced women claim their rightful place in the Society and to bring social transformation into this dark world. It also aims to re-establish the women’s dignity and self-respect.
Foundation thrives to achieve their Values, Vision, and Mission.
Values: 1.Tolerance 2.Pragmatism 3.Social Transformation.
Vision: 1. Restore Social Status of Widowed end Divorced Women.
Mission: 1.Transform the society for indiscrimination, the complete participation of widowed and divorced women in mainstream society. 2. Provide a multi-dimensional approach to solve financial, social, emotional, moral, medical and psychical issues or widowed and divorced women.
Parihaar Foundation chooses a wider path to aid the society. The operation begins to focus from a major city in every city in every state to awaken and gather the educated, forward-thinking social transformers – to address and spread the activities across cities, suburbs and rural areas alike.
Achievements of Parihaar Foundation :
1. Remarriage possibilities. 2. Vocational and Professional Placements. 3. Empowerment and Acceptance through Family counseling. 4. Legal support. 5.Observance of International Widows Day. 6. Adopting village in Odisha to work with over 300 Women. 7. Popular movies in Kannada have handled the Theme of Widow Empowerment.
From the scratch, Parihaar foundation is working hard to achieve it’s goals and to give freedom and liberty to the society of widows and Divorcees. Hence, PARIHAAR urges the nation to accept widowed and divorced women issues with equanimity and invites all like-minded people to join hands with them as volunteers, social transformers, members, servant leaders, patrons, trustees and dignitaries of governing. So, let us join hands and aid the NGO to see the better future. This year PARIHAAR has intended to make it loud and create awareness across the state. Hence, they are commemorating this auspicious day on 24th June 2018 at RV Teacher’s College, Jayanagar 2nd block, Ashok pillar road, between 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. This event is destined to launch two of its new programs with the existing three more programs. The programs which are about to launch are MITHRA and AAROGYA SIRI.
MITHARA – A monthly Nutrition support program for at least 500 families. AAROHYA SIRI – The main motive is to conduct main Health camps with well-known hospital groups and to go for campaigns to spread awareness.

Karnataka High Court granted conditional bail to son of Shanthinagar MLA N A Haris, Mohammed Nalapad, on Thursday June 14.

Nalapad has been in prison from several months for the claimed lethal assault he made on Vidwath and was under judicial custody.

Justice John Michael D’Cunha, who heard the bail plea for more than two hours, conveyed the order. According to most recent reports, Nalapad should outfit an obligation of Rs 2 lac and can’t leave the city.

Prior, an order issued by the 63rd sessions court in the city had dashed the expectations of Nalapad of getting bail even after charge-sheet was documented for the case. Thus, he was compelled to stay inside the jail.

Pakistan continues to help infiltration of militants into the Kashmir Valley though the Ramadan ceasefire has brought a modicum of peace into the lives of ordinary Kashmiris, a senior Army commander said on Tuesday.

Lt General A.K. Bhatt, Commander of the Srinagar headquartered 15 Corps, told IANS on the sidelines of a function: “The Ramadan ceasefire has brought in some modicum of peace into the lives of the common Kashmiris who have appreciated the gesture.

“We are happy that no civilian casualty has taken place during the holy month of Ramadan, but Pakistan has been continuing its efforts to help infiltration into the state,” he said.

Lt Gen Bhatt was here to inaugurate free residential coaching for aspirants of NEET medical entrance test.

He said that troops on the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan, were deployed to meet the challenge of infiltration.

But the officer said that there were no indications suggesting that infiltration attempts would increase in the coming months.

Lt Gen Bhatt said the decision to extend or call off the Ramadan ceasefire was for the government to take.

“In both cases, the Army will continue to enforce the decision taken by the government.”